Fastener



Patented Feb. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES FASTENER Harold W. Kost, Birmingham,Mich., assignor to Detroit Harvester Company, Detroit, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Application August 5, 1939, Serial No. 288,607

2 Claims.

This invention relates `to fastening devices of sheet material in whicha .portion of the sheet material is deformed for .threadedly engaging ascrew-threaded connecting shank and an object is to provide a fastenerof this character with new and improved means for resiliently mounting atongue used for holding or centering said fastener in position andmilitating against displacement, thereby to facilitate the connectingtogether of parts, such, for example, as certain parts of an automobilewhich are not readily visible or accessible and are consequently.troublesome to join.

appear and for .purposesof illustrtion but not of limitation, anembodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing, inwhich Figure 1 is a top plan view of a fas-tener;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the fastener;

2 Figure 3 is a side elevation of the fastener;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the fastener appliedto a structure to be joined; and

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional eleva-tion substantially on the line5--5 of Figure 4, a portion of the screw being broken away.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a fastenerconsisting of a relatively thin strip of sheet material, such as sheetmetal,

folded upon itself to provide flanges lo and n, which are substantiallyparallel `to one another and integrally joined by arms I2 and I3. Theflanges are spaced from each other an amount corresponding substantiallyto .the thickness of the panel to which the fastener is applied. Formedin the flange I0 is a peninsular flap I4 which is integrally connectedat its inner end only with the body of the fastener or the flange I0,and separated from arms I2 and I3 by parallel slits I5 and I6 which have.their rear ends enlarged at IB to afford greater flexibility to theflap.

Formed in Vthe flange I0 is an outwardly pressed frusta-conical.protuberance I9 apertured at 20,

the wall 2| ofthe aperture being helical and the protuberance beingformed with a radial slit 221m order to enable the @lief the aperture toengage a thread of a screw-threaded shank of .a bolt or screw E. Theforma-tion of the protuberance from a general aspect forms no part ofthis invention, since the .thread-receiving portion may be any one ofsever-a1 forms without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moredetailed description of said protuberance, for this reason, is notconsidered necessary and reference Other objects and advantages willhereinafter is hereby made Ito `the patent .to Bion C. Place No.2,081,065, wherein thestructure is more fully described.

In this instance, a portion of the wall of the protuberance in theregion of the slit 22 is struck out to form a depending .tongue or.prong 23 whi-ch is bent inwardly or downwardly toward the ange II. Asshown, .the tongue 23 inclines slightly toward the free end 24 of the-ap in order to facilitate the sliding of the tongue along 10 a panel.The tongue 23' is adapted .to extend into an opening C formed in .thepanel A with which the screw receiving opening 20 is adapted toregister. The tongue engages an edge portion of the opening C therebym-ilitating against 15 displacement of the fastener and operatingautomatically .to bring .the openings into registra-tion. The open endof flange II is cut away to form a recess 25 to afford adequateclearance for the screw E. 20

In use, it will be apparent that the fianges I0 and I I are slipped overopposite sides of the panel A and during such movement, the flap I4 exesoutwardly to allow .the tongue 23 t-o ride along the surface of panel Auntil -it reaches the open- 25 -dng C whereupon the resiliency of theflap causes the tongue 23 to snap into the opening. When the fastener isin this position, the screw E is readily passed through an opening D inthe panel B, and then through the opening C and into 30 screw-threadedengagement with the protuberance I9, thereby securely joining the partstogether.

It will be apparent that .the fastener may constitute a flat body formedwith a resiliently 3:, mounted prong, instead of the U-shape structureabove described. It will also be understood that other forms of threadengaging por-tions may be employed without departingV from the purviewof the invention. 40

It is to be understood that numerous chan in details of construction,arrangement/and operation may be eifectedwitl'rout departing from thespirit of the invention especially as defined inv the appended claims. n45 What I claim is:

1. A fastener comprising a sheet metal body having a .pa-ir oflaterallyv spaced substantially parallel slitstherein; each slit havingone end terminating near one edge of said body and the 50 other endterminating at Athe opposite edge of said body thereby to form aco-.planar peninsular flap integrally connected at one edge -to saidbody and free at its opposite edge, a thread receiving portion on saidflap, a prong depending 55 from said nap and adapted to enter an openingof apart to be Joined; slits also providing a relatively narrow arm atopposite sideeot said nap. a nxeksubstantially parallel with and beneathsaid body, and an integral hinge 'oonbody and tree at its opposite edge,a thread reoeiving portion on said nap. a prong depending from said tlapand adapted to enter an opening oi'a part to be Joined. smid slits alsoproviding a relatively mm'ow arm at opposite sides of said asnagsubstantially parallel with and beneath said body, said i'iange ofsubstantially less width' than said-body, vai cut-away portion on saidlniuige to ati'ord clearance for a-screw, and

an integral hinge connection between each side l0 arm and said danse.

p HAROLD w. Kos'r.

